Reclaiming Indigenous Sexual Being: Sovereignty and Decolonization Through Sexuality

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N/A

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Where to Access:

https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/arbutus/article/view/19427

Years/Date Range:

2020

Overview:

This paper illustrates Indigenous sexual being on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, through a narrative of resurgence and sovereignty. Discussions regarding Indigenous sexual being in Vancouver within scholarship and media tend to share a single story which focuses narrowly on a theme of violence. This paper utilizes the Indigenous concept of a Sovereign Erotic (Driskill, 2004) to illustrate how sexuality can be used as a sovereignty practice. I exemplify this concept as an active practice of decolonization through erotics by exploring the works of Virago Nation, an all-Indigenous burlesque group. This paper works to expose narratives of colonization and gendered violence in Vancouver, in order to share a competing narrative of sovereignty through sexuality. This narrative of sovereignty provides a broader scope of Indigenous sexuality in Vancouver by including those who reflect resurgence, reclamation, and hope.